NBA pushes back on criticism of second apron, says new CBA is working

The NBA isn’t backing away from the second apron.

In fact, league officials believe it’s doing precisely what it was designed to do.

Three NBA executives defended the current Collective Bargaining Agreement in a wide-ranging interview with Jeff Zillgitt of NBA.com, pointing to reduced payroll disparity and increased competitive balance.

NBA executive vice president and deputy general counsel Dan Rube said the league wanted to make life more difficult for the highest-spending teams while encouraging lower-spending clubs to invest more heavily in their rosters.

“We’re seeing what we were hoping to see, which is essentially more teams, players, and fans each season … with realistic championship contending hopes,” Rube said.

That’s notable given the criticism coming from the other side.

NBPA executive director David Kelly recently made his feelings about the second apron abundantly clear, joking that its supporters consist of the NBA’s 30 owners and commissioner Adam Silver.

The league sees things differently. Rube pointed out that the current CBA raised the minimum team salary, expanded exceptions for signings and trades, loosened contract-extension rules and lowered tax rates for teams spending above the tax line but below the second apron.

He also pushed back against the notion that the system simply allows owners to pocket more money, noting that players continue to receive 51 percent of basketball-related income.

James Jones, the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, pointed to eight different champions in eight years as evidence of increased parity.

“The greatest feeling you can have as a player going into a season is knowing you legitimately have a shot to win a championship,” Jones said.

So the union hates the second apron. The NBA thinks it’s working.

Something tells us that debate isn’t going away anytime soon.